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Blue Jay bats back Dickey in win over Indians

R.A. Dickey went six solid innings, Juan Francisco homered and Adam Lind added a two-run double as the Jays hung on to beat Cleveland 5-4.

Jays catcher Josh Thole makes the out on sliding Indian Carlos Santana to preserve a one-run Toronto lead in the eighth inning Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.
(David Cooper / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

The Blue Jays reached the quarter-mark of their season Tuesday night in inspiring fashion, with R.A. Dickey working six mostly tidy innings and the offence supplying timely runs against Cleveland’s Justin Masterson to grind out a 5-4 win.

Toronto climbed back to .500 record (20-20), not a world- beating mark but sufficient in the tight American League East, where only 1.5 games separate first place from fourth.

Dickey had one of his best outings of the season, working four batters into the seventh inning but leaving with the bases loaded. Cleveland scored three times in the seventh to make for a tense finish.

The offence pounded Masterson, a hard-throwing horse of a right-hander who looked strong early but gave up five runs in the middle three innings before being chased from the game.

Melky Cabrera’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning plated Jose Reyes, who had tripled, with the first Toronto run of the night, and third baseman Juan Francisco added another with a solo homer in the fifth. Adam Lind doubled to drive home a pair of runs in a three-run sixth and that was it for Masterson.

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The next three weeks provide the Jays with a perfect opportunity to rise above the .500 mark. They have only one road trip over that span.

Colby Rasmus sat out Tuesday after tweaking a hamstring injury on Monday night. He’s expected to take several days off to heal rather than go on the disabled list. Kevin Pillar made his season debut in centre field but went 0-for-3.

Here’s a look at how the Jays have fared in each major facet of the game — offence, pitching, defence — with a quarter of the season gone:

OFFENCE

The Blue Jay bats are humming along at a championship level right now.

Collectively, Toronto hitters rank second in the big leagues in homers, third in RBIs, third in runs, 12th in average, third in on-base percentage plus slugging, and 11th in on-base percentage. Individually, Jose Bautista and Cabrera are riding extremely hot starts.

However, the Jays will likely have to develop greater patience at the plate as the season progresses and advance scouts uncover better game plans to douse their offence.

Grade: B

PITCHING

Starting pitching has been a well-documented letdown so far this season, but the struggles the bullpen went though, especially during a stretch when the club lost 9 of 14 games, were unexpected.

To date, the ’pen has blown seven games; take half of those games and turn them into wins and the Jays are likely riding at or near first place.

The bullpen should benefit from the recent return of closer Casey Janssen, who earned the save Tuesday.

Mark Buehrle, who is having a tremendous season, is about the only Jays pitcher ranking anywhere near the top in any important statistical category: entering Tuesday he led the league in ERA at 2.04, was third in WAR at 2.3 and is the most efficient pitcher in the AL in terms of time between pitches.

Grade: C-

DEFENCE

Cabrera made a great throw from left field to cut down the tying run at the plate in Tuesday’s game, and it came with two outs in the eighth inning, no less.

The play was an example of the improved defence the Jays have shown this season after a subpar effort last year helped ruin the promise of that retooled lineup.

Toronto currently ranks second in the majors with 16 errors, and second in fielding percentage at .989, both solid marks.

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